By Mark Edward Nero
The Port of Los Angeles said April 12 that through the first three months of 2016, it recorded the busiest first quarter in its 109-year history, and handled more than two million TEUs during the period.
The port’s overall volume of 2,030,982 TEUs in the first quarter of 2016 was an increase of 11.3 percent compared to last year, according to port data.
“Our first quarter growth is significant and encouraging,” Port of LA Executive Director Gene Seroka said. “The feedback we are receiving from cargo owners and exporters is that the port is delivering on speed, efficiency, cost and service.”
The news wasn’t all good for the POLA, however. Total volumes for March 2016 – imports and exports – registered at 612,863 TEUs, which was a drop of 22.6 percent compared to March 2015, when volumes surged after congestion issues were resolved.
Although March 2016 exports increased 9.5 percent to 159,362 TEUs, imports decreased 33.3 percent to 287,231 TEUs compared to the same month the previous year.
When you add in that empty container traffic dropped 22.8 percent to 166,269 TEUs, it results in a overall volume total of 612,863 TEUs last month.
For the fiscal year to date, LA volumes are up by over 176,000 units, a jump of 2.8 percent compared to the same nine-month period during FY 2015.
Current and past data container counts for the Port of Los Angeles may be found at: http://www.portoflosangeles.org/maritime/stats.asp
